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Diving into discovery: Introduction to Marine Science 2025
This year, from 14 to 18 July, 58 curious Grade 8 and 9 learners gathered at the Two Oceans Aquarium for an unforgettable week exploring the world beneath the waves.
Green turtle season is here, and we need your help
Around this time of the year, our team at the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s Turtle Conservation Centre starts preparing for the “green season”. Just like turtle hatchlings tend to strand more frequently at particular times of the year, we experience a similar phenomenon with subadult green turtles.
Let’s learn all about green season, and what it means for our turtle team.
Ocean Campus at the Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa Conference
Recently, the environmental educators’ community gathered in Cape Town for the 43rd Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa (EEASA) Conference. This celebration of innovation and collaboration in sustainability education took place from 16 – 19 September 2025 under the theme, “Celebrating and reflecting the successes in education for sustainable development: Building on success and shaping the future of Education for Sustainable Development”.
Meet our current Research interns at the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation
We are delighted to introduce Ivana Samujh, Syethemba Zungu, and Ntombencinci Mxotwa – our newest interns with our Research team.
Bakkies, the elephant seal, has returned to the Cape
Cape Town's shores have long played host to some fascinating (and rather large) visitors from the South Atlantic Ocean: Southern elephant seals! Most recently, a repeat visitor, called Bakkies, has returned.
The Two Oceans Aquarium family waddled for the African penguin
On International African Penguin Awareness Day, our Two Oceans Aquarium family waddled together in support of the African penguin!
The remarkable rescue of new turtles, Ginger and Bayleaf
In September 2025, the Turtle Conservation Centre team was reminded just how big and beautiful our turtle community is when two turtles were rescued and transported to us on the very same day.
Green turtles were downlisted on the IUCN Red List: Why conservation must continue
In October 2025, the green turtle’s (Chelonia mydas) global conservation status was changed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List from Endangered to Least Concern. This is a significant success for one of the ocean’s most iconic species, and it is a result of decades of tireless conservation work around the world. While the global trend is encouraging, the story is not a one-size-fits-all, and localised conservation remains critical.
Our Eastern Cape-based Marine Sciences schools embarked on a field trip for Grade 10 learners
At the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s Ocean Campus, experiential learning is a core aspect of our teaching philosophy and a huge part of who we are. For the schools across South Africa that offer Marine Sciences, this is no different. The Eastern Cape Marine Sciences learners recently had an incredible, jam-packed field trip in Boknes that brought together 113 Grade 10 learners, 11 teachers, and seven student teachers.
Birdmouth wrasse
Birdmouth wrasses are small, elongated fish that display strong sexual dimorphism (males and females look different). Males are vivid blue-green with yellowed fins. Their snouts grow disproportionately long, often with bulbous protrusions. Females are significantly smaller, with comparatively drab colouration. They are yellow-brown with white underparts. Their snouts are also elongated, but more slender than the male’s. Birdmouth wrasses use their elongated snouts, which have small mouths on the end, to prey on small invertebrates in cracks and crevices. They are abundant around Indian Ocean reefs, particularly on the African coast.Short-spined urchin
Short-spined urchins are large, well-rounded sea urchins, completely covered in short, white spines. Long tube-feet extend well beyond their spines.They inhabit beds of seaweed, where they use their tiny tube-feet to camouflage themselves by holding straps of seaweed, rocks or other debris over their bodies (as pictured). This behaviour gives them their international name of “collector urchin”.Short-spined urchins are opportunistic feeders, and feed voraciously on algae, seagrass and bacterial mats. Their behaviour is unaffected by the day-night cycle, and this is unusual amongst urchin species. This unusual behaviour has made short-spined urchins useful for rehabilitating coral reefs which have been infested by alien seaweed species.These urchins are nutritious and edible – regularly preyed upon by humans, octopuses and puffer fish.Boxfish
The yellow boxfish may be small, but it packs a punch! This little fish is the type species for the genus Ostracion – this means it is the “base” species for the boxfish family and is permanently the first association with the genus. Ostracion means “little box” and describes its cube-like body. Its species name, cubicum, refers to its boxy shape.